For most people, enjoying the weekend with one's family is something taken for granted. Not so for best-selling singer-songwriter Emil Chau. He's been on the super-fast track expanding his singing career for the past few years. At one point, he almost had to use his business card to introduce himself to his kids! Now's finally the time to take it easy -- by his standard. He shares with Jacqueline Wee his inner concerns these days.

When you have already earned the enviable reputation of being the "Assassin of the Heavenly Kings" -- and quite deservedly so when you have under your belt sell-out albums such as Love Follows, You're My Joy and Sorrow and A Little Piece of Heaven, as well as numerous major singing awards from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore -- it's not an easy task to have others believe that the one thing you'd like to really become is just "an ordinary man."

However, that's what megastar Emil Chau's claims to be learning to do since early February this year. "I've definitely kept a lower profile over the last couple of months. For the first time since my singing career took off, I'm working regular hours, with five days devoted to preparing my new album and spending the rest of the week simply lazing around with my family, like an ordinary person! I had wanted to attempt such a lifestyle some time back, but I was too tied up with my career. Now, I'm finally the regular husband to my wife and a father who has more time to be around for my two kids."

Such a need for lying low is understandable. After all, Emil had spent years honing his craft before he hit big time. Discovered in 1983 after singing at pubs, Emil's debut album The Last Waltz released the following year was unable to fetch satisfactory results. Undaunted by the initial setback, Emil joined Rock Records as a production assistant in 1985, through the recommendation of Jonathan Lee. It was only in 1987 when Emil's singing talent started to receive some form of public recognition, with the release of his first album under the Rock Records label, Direction of the Heart.

The man has indeed come a long way. So has his wife, Constance, the Woman-Behind-the-Successful-Man. Married in 1986, the loving couple has two children, a son and a daughter. The whole family was here for the NKF concert last week and we took this opportunity to ask Emil what are the important things in life for him.

Other than the precious moments spent with your wife and children, what has the past half year of near-sabbatical meant for you?

Being able to work only five days a week is such a rare and precious opportunity for me to refocus myself when it comes to my musical direction. The past one and a half years have been so hectic and fast-paced that everything seemed to have flashed past. And for a while, I was even beginning to feel rather lost as to the next step I should take. I was getting rather exhausted and my creativity was almost reaching a bottleneck! The sabbatical simply provided the space for me to catch up on myself again, and to also clear up in my head the things I may want to achieve in my future albums.

What then can we expect of your next album?

I would describe my next album, scheduled to be released sometime in July, rather experimental in nature. Over the last two years, I've wanted to try out something different from my usual sentimental style, but I was rather constrained by the fixed impressions my listeners seemed to have of me. In this new album, though the songs are still going to be on the sentimental side, there have been attempts to experiment with more musical genres and arrangement techniques. Image-wise, well, I can't really change my hairstyle much with a face shape like mine, though I am in the process of growing my hair a little longer!

How would you describe your passion for music?

I'm proud to say that till today, I've still maintained in my heart that material gains have never been the focus of my music. I aim to be as happy as I can whenever I express myself through music. Each time I write or sing a song, I'm striving for that touch of sensitivity that captures a particular human experience or feeling. Without this, music could never strike a chord with anyone, and the process of creating music then becomes mundane and lifeless. At each day of work, I try to keep all of this in mind.

What do you enjoy doing most?

I took my last trip together with my wife to attend Jonathan Lee and Sandy Lam's wedding in Canada, and I realised that the trip meant more for us as a couple than simply attending a good friend's wedding. It felt almost like a second honeymoon, cos it's so rare for us to spend such intimate, leisurely moments together! This time round to Singapore, I've brought my entire family along as well, in fact, even as I'm doing the interview, they should be touring the Singapore Zoo right now! I've got to do this more often! [Jokingly] I used to be so busy with my work that I almost had to introduce myself to my kids using my business card!

Other than this, what would we see you doing more of in '98?

I'm definitely in the business of discovering and grooming some newcomers! There are loads of people who's got a lot of talent, like in the case of Yuki Hsu and Elsa Lim who have just joined Rock Records. Now that I have my own studio and production house, it sure makes the process a lot more convenient!

Special thanks to Eunice for this article.
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